How our expertise in access helped offer solutions during COVID-19

How our expertise in access helped offer solutions during COVID-19

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Recent Projects

Since the start of the current pandemic, Spectrum has been working hard to help our new and existing clients keep their properties safe. Our expertise in cleaning and access has been invaluable in disinfecting large buildings, killing the virus and preventing the spread of COVID-19.

As soon as the pandemic began, Spectrum started offering free disinfection cleaning with standard maintenance visits. This meant that all clients we worked with had the chance to have their building thoroughly disinfected, free of charge.

Like many of the projects we take on, disinfecting work often requires specialist expertise in access. Reaching all areas of a building that need to be cleaned is not always easy, and our operatives often have to think creatively in order to get the job done.

Why disinfecting your building is so important

The novel form of coronavirus that is behind the current pandemic appears to be highly infectious. While most people are likely to contract the virus by coming into close contact with an infected person, it is also possible to pick up COVID-19 from contaminated surfaces like door handles, handrails and entry buttons.

These surfaces can become contaminated when they are touched by a person infected with COVID-19. When a person with the virus touches a surface after sneezing, rubbing their eyes or coughing, droplets of the disease can be transferred to hard surfaces. These droplets can survive for hours or even days, potentially infecting any other person who touches the same spot.

The only way to prevent this type of transmission is to thoroughly disinfect heavily-used surfaces. Cleaning door handles, handrails and other surfaces that may carry disease will stop others from coming into contact with the virus and help to keep those who use your property safe.

How we clean and disinfect commercial and residential properties

The COVID-19 virus is actually relatively easy to kill when it is outside the body. Specially formulated cleaning products and high temperature steam can kill droplets in seconds, making surfaces safe and reducing infection rates.

The exact processes our operatives use will depend on the type and location of the surface they are disinfecting. In most cases, our expert teams will use super-heated steam to kill the virus and disinfect the surface. This steam can be applied to the exterior or interior of a property using our specially designed and 3D printed tools. These tools make it a lot easier for our operatives to access all parts of a building and disinfect the most heavily used areas.

In some cases, our teams will use chemical products to help remove all traces of the virus from potentially contaminated surfaces. These chemicals are specially formulated to kill germs and droplets and leave surfaces clean and safe. Cleaning chemicals are applied directly to door handles, entry buttons, handrails and other areas that may have become contaminated.

Creative access solutions

Spectrum has completed disinfection cleaning on a number of the maintenance projects we have carried out over the past few weeks. On many of these projects, our teams have had to come up with creative solutions in order to overcome access issues and reach all parts of a building.

On a recent project in London Bridge, access was made difficult by the fact that a key tenant was stuck abroad and so could not provide access to their property. As the whole building was accessed through this particular apartment, our teams were forced to come up with an alternative plan to clean the property.

The solution we found was to use cherry pickers to provide access to key parts of the building. Using these versatile machines allowed our expert teams to access the areas that needed to be cleaned without waiting for the resident to return to the property. By finding this creative solution, Spectrum was able to carry out the disinfection clean quickly and efficiently during a standard maintenance visit.

Creative thinking was also required on a recent clean at a Hackney site. In this case, access to a terraced area was only possible through an apartment. The resident of this apartment was unable to provide access to Spectrum operatives. In order to solve this issue, our teams gained access to the roof of the property and then used rope access to reach the terrace. This meant that no internal access was required and that the disinfection clean could go ahead on schedule.

Cleaning via rope access is always done by highly trained Spectrum operatives. These operatives are able to carry out cleaning and disinfection works high above the ground, and reach parts of a building that would be inaccessible using traditional methods. Full health and safety assessments are always carried out before any type of cleaning project begins. This ensures the safety of both our operatives and the people using the building.

Where appropriate, our teams have also used specially designed and 3D printed tools to reach elevated parts of a building and areas that are otherwise difficult to access. These unique, patented tools give our operatives the extra reach they need and allow them to complete all types of cleaning jobs quickly and efficiently.

Our creative access and cleaning solutions helped to minimise disruption to the tenants of both properties. Our expertise and experience also allowed our teams to carry the work out efficiently, making the properties safe for tenants and visitors as quickly as possible.

Our teams were able to find creative and effective solutions to all of the access issues they faced when disinfecting properties during the pandemic. Thanks to our wealth of experience and extensive expertise in access, our operatives are able to find the most efficient and cost effective ways of reaching all areas of a building and giving surfaces a deep, thorough clean. Find out more about the services we offer, including disinfection cleaning, by exploring our site or getting in touch with a member of our team.

Spectrum Specialist Support serves the whole of London and the South East of England. Our rope access teams are available 24/7 in Central London, and are responsive and are able to deliver to tight deadlines.